You spend hours cleaning, drying, and styling your hair – only to get them frizzy as soon as you step outside. Your perfectly smooth hair puffs up and starts resembling a bird's nest, with flyaways ruining your looks even further. Sounds familiar?
Don’t worry, you’re not alone in this struggle, millions of people deal with frizzy hair every single day. Fortunately, there is a light at the end of this tunnel; anti-frizz smoothing creams.
These creams exterminate the frizz menace while also providing exceptional moisturization, smoothness, and many other benefits to your hair. The best part about using these anti-frizz products, however, is that they do not take any extra time or effort. You can easily integrate them into your everyday morning routine.
How Do the Best Anti-Frizz Smoothing Creams Work?
Before we learn how anti-frizz products work, we need to understand why our hair becomes frizzy in the first place.
What Causes Frizzing?
The answer to this question lies in atmospheric humidity, which tends to move from areas of high concentration to low concentration. When you go out on a humid summer day with dry hair, the moisture in the air starts getting into your hair. More specifically, this extra moisture gets between your cuticles (microscopic, scale-like cell tissues). This excess humidity causes your hair to puff up and get frizzy.
How Anti-Frizz Creams Work
Anti-frizz creams and conditioners prevent frizzing in two ways.
First, they fill in the gaps between your cuticle cells, leaving no space for water to get trapped and cause puffiness. Secondly, these creams create a protective layer between your hair and the atmosphere, preventing any excess moisture from getting in. Both of these methods, when combined, make your hair completely moisture resistant at the microscopic scale, removing any chance of frizzing.
How to Buy the Right Anti-Frizz Smoothing Cream
You can buy any of the anti-frizz smoothing creams out there and see a significant reduction in frizzing. However, you need to find a cream that matches your hair type if you want the best possible results. Here's what to look for.
Fine Hair
People with fine hair are often advised to stay away from moisturizers and smoothing creams altogether. But fine hairs are just as susceptible to frizziness and dryness as any other type. Luckily, there are plenty of lightweight anti-frizz creams out there.
These lightweight creams will keep your delicate hair smooth and shiny without weighing them down or destroying their voluminous charm.
Wavy Hair
Frizz can completely destroy the natural definition of wavy hair, and restoring those gorgeous waves can be difficult. Using an anti-frizz cream as normal will remove the frizzing issue but will not restore your gorgeous waves.
For that, you would have to buy anti-frizz smoothing creams that are specifically made for wavy hair. Additionally, using these creams as a prep product before blow-drying your hair is the best way to get the smooth and shiny waves.
Curly hair
Frizzy, curly hairs are a tough beast to tackle. Once frizzed, they can be quite a challenge to restore. Luckily, it is possible with the best lightweight anti-frizz smoothing creams.
Some people assume that dense, curly hair requires heavy creams to take out the frizz, but it's quite the opposite. Heavy creams will weigh down the hair, preventing the formation of defined curls.
So, the best way to achieve frizz-free curls is to lather a supple smoothing cream from mid-shaft to ends and blow-dry your hair slowly. It takes a little patience, but you should get your striking spirals back.
Best Ways to Avoid Frizzing
Anti-frizz smoothing creams are a wonderful weapon against frizzing, but there is a lot more that you can do to avoid frizzing in the first place.
Avoid Hot Showers
Hot water is not good for your hair. It washes away your hair's natural protective oils and leaves them defenseless. Hot showers are also the leading cause of scalp dryness, so avoiding them altogether is not a bad idea.
Instead, wash your hair thoroughly with mildly cold water. This will clean your hair without affecting the natural oils at all.
Be Careful with Blow Dryers
Blow dryers are one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal. They will let you tame a wild frizz in a pinch. However, the heat from blow-drying can damage your hair in the long run and increase the chances of flyaways and frizzing.
So, keep your blow dryer's heat as low as possible and use them only when necessary. Air drying your hair is a great alternative to blow dryers if you have the time.
Avoid Sulphates
A lot of modern shampoos contain sulfates. They make the shampoo foamy. However, they are also responsible for washing away natural hair oils and causing dryness, which leads to further frizziness.
Avoid buying any sulfate-based shampoos and look for glycerin-based alternatives. These glycerin shampoos even provide extra moisturization and hydration for your hair.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will anti-frizz cream make my hair greasy?
Your hair should not get greasy after using a smoothing cream, but it is possible. This usually happens when you use heavy, oil-based cream for fine hair. If you notice your hair getting oily, you should look for a lighter anti-frizz cream that is more suitable for your hair type.
Can anti-frizz smoothing cream damage my hair
Unlike many other styling products, anti-frizz creams are actually good for your hair. Their nourishing ingredients rehydrate your hair and protect the natural oils on your scalp. This gives your hair a silky smooth finish while completely removing flyaways and frizz.
Do anti-frizz products expire?
Yes, they have a limited shelf life and should be replaced every two to three years. Always store them in cool, dry places to keep them fresh for longer, and do not expose them to direct sunlight.
However, it is unlikely that your hair will get damaged from using an expired anti-frizz smoothing cream. But, the risk is still there, and you should avoid making such mistakes.